Mason jar full of mercury

[Chunky]

im at my friends and the last tendants left a half full jar of murcery in the shed. it has a penny floating in it 0.o

i was qurious. what are the uses of mercury?

and how on earth could someone get a jar of it!

it was atleast like 5 lbs.

possible conclusions?

[mike alexander]

Someone knew a chemist.

Back in grad school I used mercury displacement pumps on vacuum lines for synthesis of air-sensitive compounds. There were five pounds of mercury in there easily. I remember several big jars of mercury in my high school chem lab, for that matter.

[BigDon]

Well if I told you some of the funner things you could do with it I would not only be banned but the F.I.B. would be after me!

:)

[Chunky]

Well if I told you some of the funner things you could do with it I would not only be banned but the F.I.B. would be after me!

:)


withinclarity@yahoo.com
email :D


im not on yahoo.. im at a friends. but i sure will check my email!

[Jeff Root]

What should be done with it? Sell it to a specialist metals dealer?

My thermostat has a mercury switch. The thermostat needs replacement,
and I'm wondering if I would be allowed to keep the sealed glass switch if
I asked for it. My guess is that whoever removes the thermostat will be
required to deal with the mercury according to some regulation. As of a
couple of years ago, I was told that no license is required to buy mercury
(in small quantities, at least). I have no idea what the price is. Or whether
it can be sent through the mail. Or via UPS or Federal Express.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[BigDon]

withinclarity@yahoo.com
email :D


im not on yahoo.. im at a friends. but i sure will check my email!


Oh, I was indeed born in the morning.


Just not this morning!

:lol:

[Chunky]

Oh, I was indeed born in the morning.


Just not this morning!

:lol:
knowledge isnt illegal. acting apon certain ideas is..

im only qurious :)

[BigDon]

Of course! So's the F.I.B.!

[sarongsong]

Turn it into gold! (http://educate-yourself.org/zsl/zslmercury10aug02.shtml) http://www.bautforum.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

[BigDon]

Oh sure! I read tomorrow Thousands Dead in White Hall!! (Film at 11)

And I'm supposed to go, "Glad I didn't do that!"?

[timb]

What should be done with it? Sell it to a specialist metals dealer?

My thermostat has a mercury switch. The thermostat needs replacement,
and I'm wondering if I would be allowed to keep the sealed glass switch if
I asked for it. My guess is that whoever removes the thermostat will be
required to deal with the mercury according to some regulation. As of a
couple of years ago, I was told that no license is required to buy mercury
(in small quantities, at least). I have no idea what the price is.

Wholesale mercury (http://www.financialpost.com/markets/market_data/commodity-cash_prices.html) is USD 650 per flask (76lb).

[LotusExcelle]

I have a small mercury switch. I don't think it was a thermostat switch, though. It looks like the kind used on car hoods back in the day. It will stay in its sealed container as long as I'm alive, I hope.

[Van Rijn]

Elemental mercury should be avoided, but it's some of the compounds that are really scary stuff. By the way, in my family's house back in the '70s I swapped all the light switches with silent mercury switches. They worked great. It wasn't long after that they were phased out. Oh, and when I was a kid, and got a cut, my mother would regularly use mercurichrome. (http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Mercurichrome)

[01101001]

Mercury Material Safety Data Sheet (http://fscimage.fishersci.com/msds/96252.htm)

Handling: Wash thoroughly after handling. Remove contaminated clothing and wash before reuse. Minimize dust generation and accumulation. Keep container tightly closed. Do not get on skin or in eyes. Do not ingest or inhale. Use only in a chemical fume hood. Discard contaminated shoes. Do not breathe vapor.
Storage: Keep container closed when not in use. Store in a tightly closed container. Store in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area away from incompatible substances. Keep away from metals. Store protected from azides.

[Van Rijn]

Yes, I hope the jar is sealed, and whatever you do, DON'T PLAY WITH IT.

Here's what you can get into if you do:

http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2004/Jan-13-Tue-2004/news/22985052.html

While Clark County health officials tried to track down 12 people Monday who they believe were exposed to high levels of toxic mercury vapors that made a 17-year-old boy sick, federal authorities said the cost for cleaning up the contamination at a Saylor Way home will be at least $500,000.

The teen, Michael Coleman, a Western High School student, was hospitalized Saturday with acute mercury poisoning.[snip]

[Veeger]

I remember as a kid, playing with small quantities of mercury. I think one of my school science teachers had some. I also had an asbestos rock in my rock collection. Ignorance is bliss.

Mercury, in some forms is toxic and should not be improperly handled. Heavy metal contamination is very difficult to deal with, especially when its in your body.

http://www.lenntech.com/heavy-metals.htm

http://www.balanceyournutrition.com/In_Focus_mercury_toxicity.htm

Keep it out of the environment:
http://www.keepmercuryfromrising.org/spills/

And call proper authorities to dispose of it.

[mike alexander]

And also realize we aren't talking about kryptonite here. Mercury isn't some especially dangerous metal, it's just one of those you'd be better off minimizing exposure to. No demon in the thermometer. Jiggling a blob in your hand isn't going to kill you.

[tdvance]

Elemental mercury should be avoided, but it's some of the compounds that are really scary stuff. By the way, in my family's house back in the '70s I swapped all the light switches with silent mercury switches. They worked great. It wasn't long after that they were phased out. Oh, and when I was a kid, and got a cut, my mother would regularly use mercurichrome. (http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Mercurichrome)

Mine too (on that last)--and gee, I must be dead now according to the experts.

[Veeger]

Well it didn't kill me. I thought it was cool, but the HAZMAT people seem to take it a little more seriously.

[Romanus]

It you want to keep it, cover it with some water in addition to the the lid on the jar; it should keep the fumes out.

[BigDon]

Or even sell it. It's not cheap. Someone will buy it. Talk to a larger metal recycler. don't take it to a dosposal site, they'' just dispose of it.

[Veeger]

Oh, and when I was a kid, and got a cut, my mother would regularly use mercurichrome. (http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Mercurichrome)

Some people may have a mouthful of mercury :shifty:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_amalgam_controversy

[Van Rijn]

Some people may have a mouthful of mercury :shifty:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_amalgam_controversy


Oh, I do. When the fillings wear out, my dentist replaces them with the resin stuff, but I still have a good number of teeth with amalgam fillings. I don't sweat it. I'm not impressed that there's a serious concern.

[Van Rijn]

And also realize we aren't talking about kryptonite here. Mercury isn't some especially dangerous metal, it's just one of those you'd be better off minimizing exposure to. No demon in the thermometer. Jiggling a blob in your hand isn't going to kill you.

And I've done that. Given the amount of mercury here, I would have two concerns: Health issues aside, if you were to open a large jar and play with the mercury, these days that would be considered a hazard clean up concern that could get very expensive. And, there is the real health concern if you were to play with it enough (it's quite a lot of mercury).

[Siguy]

I have been wanting to get some mercury, but it's difficult to get, and so far I've only found it at about $50 for 250 grams.

Mercury is dangerous though. Being a liquid it gives off vapor, and is of course a potent neurotoxin. But it isn't nearly as dangerous as most people make it out to be. But don't drop any of it, 'cause that's illegal and dangerous for the environment as well as your health. Very difficult to clean up.

It's fun to play with assuming safety precautions. It has a high surface tension, high density, low viscosity. Just wear a serious respirator and gloves. In a WELL ventilated area, and never bring it over carpeted areas.

Gold will sink in it but most other things won't, so you can find gold with it.

You can drop a tiny bit of it on the floor of a school and have it closed down for weeks. Seriously, schools are crazy about it.

You can destroy aluminum objects.

Or you can send a few hundred grams of it to me since I will...umm... dispose of it safely at a hazardous waste site and uhh... totally not play with it.

[mugaliens]

Well if I told you some of the funner things you could do with it I would not only be banned but the F.I.B. would be after me!

:)

Your "solution" wouldn't have anything to do with a certain non-alkaline approach to the illegal use of spirits, would it?

- Mugs, Funny Investigation Board, Agent (in training)

[mugaliens]

Jonathan:

Please do:

First - do NOT touch the Mercury or attempt to remove the penney! The vapors are harmful, easily inhaled, and mercury is absorbed through the skin!

1. Contain the mercury as well as possible, preferably in a heavy glass jar with a lid which seals. Keep it sealed.

2. Keep the container in a safe location where children and pets cannot disturb it. Box it in a way that it remains upright and padded to mimize the risk of the breakage of glass.

3. Your local government should have a hazardous waste disposal facility, the first option would be to find them in the phone book and call for a schedule of drop off times and further instructions.

4. The Earth991 website (http://earth911.com/)is devoted to all environmental waste and hazardous materials that can direct you and provide information on disposal. When you visit it, you can enter your zip code and it will give you specific information on local hazardous waste services.

[Siguy]

I don't know anyone who in their right mind would simply dispose of this much mercury. It's worth money.

[Jeff Root]

Yes: Don't treat it as hazardous waste! Treat it as a hazardous valuable
resource! There is or was a precious metals dealer in the center of town
a couple of miles from me, and I stopped in there one day and asked
about mercury. They handled it, and told me that it wasn't regulated,
so I could buy it, no problem. I'm sure that they would buy it from people
who need to get rid of it.

Aside from certain mercury compounds, which I know nothing about, I
expect that the most dangerous thing is to heat it so that it evaporates
and gets into the air, where it would be breathed. Without heating, the
evaporation rate is extremely low, maybe nonexistant. Put some in a
frying pan with the heat on low in a closed room, and that will likely be
the last thing you ever do. So I suggest avoiding heat.

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

[Siguy]

Well, it does evaporate at room temperature. Not visibly, but enough to be dangerous. The vapor is the main hazard of mercury.

[mike alexander]

Mercury has a vapor pressure of about 10^-3 mm at room temperature. If you have adequate ventilation things should be fine, just like radon gas.

It really is OK to hold some in your hand a while; then wash afterwards. Sticking your finger in a jar of mercury is really quite the odd sensation. The high density and surface tension combine to make it feel a bit like sticking your finger into a force field.

It's also wild to see a sliver of gallium melt in your hand. You will require wram hands.

[timb]

I remember a story about an old time gold mine in Australia. Apparently trying to stand up in the mercury reservoir was one of the games the mine workers liked to try. They didn't say whether it did them any harm or not.

[Chunky]

i took a picture of me shaking it! *url deleted for it did not work, look down two*

[Chunky]

hmm. im not sure if that link works.. it sends me to the home page and at the top says "welcome from bautforum"

[Chunky]

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j123/hoehaver/Picture025.jpg

[Spyke]

Works for me. :D

[Tog_]

You might want to get that out of a plastic bottle and into something that will weather better. Those bottles really don't hold up well under long term storage.

BTW, and totally unrelated, do you smoke a lot, and if so, is it unfiltered by any chance?

[Grey]

I recall a chem lecture way back where they had brought samples of as many elements as they could manage so that the students could see them up close. One of them was a quart size or so jar of mercury. The cool thing I noticed is that it took most people (including me) two tries to lift it. You'd reach out and instinctively apply the amount of force you'd need for any other bottle of liquid, and since it's about 13 times heavier than that, it wouldn't budge. Then you'd try again with more force, and it certainly wasn't too heavy to lift, but it was interesting to see that you naturally estimate how much force to apply when doing things, and what happens when that intuition is wrong.

[BigDon]

He about sixteen Tog.

Just needs a bath.

Hey! I was just reading the horrors of soda pop having mercury contamination as high a parts per trillion! Now I know who to link them to!

[sarongsong]

You might want to get that out of a plastic bottle and into something that will weather better...The OP specified "mason jar".

[BetaDust]

The OP specified "mason jar".



Sure, but the Image (http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j123/hoehaver/Picture025.jpg) in Post #35, pretty much looks like a plastic bottle...:think:

[Fazor]

The picture was also posted roughly six-months from the date the "mason jar" was specified. It's quite possible that it's been ... repackaged.

Some simple deductions would lead me to believe that the contents of the mason jar found at the friend's house have been partially transfered to a plastic bottle, so that the poster could take some home to call his own.

Elementary, my dear BAUTson. *puffs on a pipe*

[Robinson]

A pipe didn't cause those finger stains. :D

[Tog_]

Sure, but the Image (http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j123/hoehaver/Picture025.jpg) in Post #35, pretty much looks like a plastic bottle...:think:

Dr Pepper 20 oz from the looks of it.

As for the finger stains, I've only seen them that dark on older guys that smoke unfiltered, Camels, Luck Strike, or home rolled.

[BigDon]

Hey! At least we can all be thankful there were no unnoticed "embarrassing personal" devices and/or lubes in the background.

[Fazor]

Hey! At least we can all be thankful there were no unnoticed "embarrassing personal" devices and/or lubes in the background.

Between that post [by] BigDon, and Chunky's avatar... I think you just ruined my night.

No offense Chunky. :)

[BetaDust]

Chunky, You are not keeping that stuf in a plastic bottle are you?

[Veeger]

One can make some inferences about a person by the way they maintain their fingernails and Chunky's appears trimmed and clean. Also, I have never seen too many smokers with a soiled thumb; usually the first two fingers, but rarely the thumb.

[BigDon]

Dr Pepper 20 oz from the looks of it.

As for the finger stains, I've only seen them that dark on older guys that smoke unfiltered, Camels, Luck Strike, or home rolled.

Oddly enough though, you don't see that with potheads.

[Neverfly]

So um...
Mercury...

[Chunky]

The OP specified "mason jar".
im using a plastic bottle now. i didnt like the idea of it being in a glass jar 0.o

[Chunky]

i smoke unfiltered when i dont have a reg one. yeah its stained my fingers. ive been smoking since i was like 10. :(

yes im keeping it in the plastic jar. not i didnt transfer some, i transferred it all.

and i lovee smoking a pipe too.... tobacco xD

[sarongsong]

So um...
Mercury...Today's headline:
February 5, 2009
Mercury contamination closes high school
...Between two and four tablespoons of mercury were released...Exposure to even small levels of mercury can be lethal.
San Diego Union-Tribune (http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/feb/05/1m5mercury233314-mercury-contamination-closes-high/?metro)

[BetaDust]

i smoke unfiltered when i dont have a reg one. yeah its stained my fingers. ive been smoking since i was like 10.



Stop it, it's bad for you.


yes im keeping it in the plastic jar. not i didnt transferred some, i transferred it all.


Into this "20 oz plastic Dr Pepper bottle"? That would be a verry verry bad thing to do.

Chunky do you realize that you are dealing with a verry dangerous material?

--Dennis

[Chunky]

Into this "20 oz plastic Dr Pepper bottle"? That would be a verry verry bad thing to do.

Chunky do you realize that you are dealing with a verry dangerous material?

--Dennis


yes and yes. i have more of a pack rat heart then a fear in me.


and why is it a very very bad thing to do?

[BetaDust]

and why is it a very very bad thing to do?

Because IMO, Dr. Pepper Bottles are not suitable for Mercury containers.

[Tog_]

Plastic bottles like those are made from the minimum amount of material that they can to do what they need to do. If you look closely at one, they will have seam where the two sides were molded together. Those seams can split and the stuff can come out. Mercury is heavier than water ans will put more pressure on the bottle, making it more likely to just fall apart. I've had one gallon water jugs do this more than once.

Also, if the thought was that the plastic bottle would be better if it fell, well that's probably wrong too. With mercury's density and mass, it will pop the plastic open just as easily as it would break a mason jar.

Mercury is toxic in two different ways. The first is the vapors. You know how water gives off steam when you heat it? Mercury does that all the time. Breathing it is bad. It can also be absorbed through the skin. If it gets out of the bottle and into something like the carpet, you'll mostly likely have to tear up the carpet to make the room safe to live in.

If you plan to keep it, put it back in a sealed glass jar and store it close to the floor in a shed or someplace outside.

[Robinson]

If it gets out of the bottle, you might gave to deal with men in white suits and breathing apparatus.

[Fazor]

If it gets out of the bottle, you might gave to deal with men in white suits and breathing apparatus.

What does the 70's/80's group Devo have to do with anything? Oh...that's not what you meant. Silly me.

[Robinson]

I was kidding about the white part.

[Chunky]

And let the record be known I haven't said anything about drugs 0.o

esp not since I've been back.

until now, this brief mention...
even before. look and see i do refrain from speaking about it.

most times.

[Nick Theodorakis]

Seriously, though, storing it in a thin plastic bottle is asking for trouble.

Nick

[sarongsong]

And let the record be known I haven't said anything about drugs...Side 1, Track 1:

is this babble (http://www.bautforum.com/off-topic-babbling/39102-babble.html) http://www.bautforum.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[Chunky]

Side 1, Track 1:

is this babble (http://www.bautforum.com/off-topic-babbling/39102-babble.html) http://www.bautforum.com/images/icons/icon10.gif


that was post 1!

first i ever made on this forum. i didnt know you existed before that day! i was googling out my minds thoughts and there i saw baut!

forgot of you for a while..

and if thats the best come back the community can give me. then i still say, oh yes in deed, i do refrain. :D

[Chunky]

Between that post [by] BigDon, and Chunky's avatar... I think you just ruined my night.

No offense Chunky. :)

no offense friend:)

do you like the old one better? xD

i liked the old one better.